When you know two languages well, they form a continuum in your brain. You don’t need to translate between them. You don’t get their grammars confused. You ‘lean’ this way or that.
At this point I can read Dutch pretty well, and even write at the level of a child. That, despite never having studied the language, ever.
Oh, except I did attend first year elementary school, sorry. I do remember being introduced to ‘ij’, ‘ui’ and ‘eu’.
Other than that though, nothing.
Knowing two languages makes you magic. It gives you the certainty that learning another language is possible.
It's so natural to use one or the other that you feel as if you're not really studying, working, or learning when engaged in them. When I listen or read in English, Dutch and to some extent German I feel as if I'm skiving off.
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